Kate's London beat

Kate s London beat - The West Australian

She might be the daughter of music industry giant Michael Gudinski but Kate Alexa is steering her own electro-pop mission.

The 24-year-old Melbourne-based singer recently went to London for two months to work on her second album, Infatuation. There she struck up a friendship with renowned UK producer Tom Nichols. The pair wrote the album together.

"I wanted to give myself time to experiment with different styles and find out what direction I wanted to go in," says Alexa, who flirts with pop, dance and reggae on the new release.

"When I started working with Tom I realised he understood what I wanted to do."

Alexa released her debut album, Broken and Beautiful, six years ago. She wrote much of the album while still studying at Melbourne Girls Grammar School.

In addition to her powerful father, Alexa's brother Matt Gudinski runs Melbourne record label Illusive, so there are no shortage of connections with the industry's best.

"Dad lets me do my own thing," she insists. "But at the same time I realise I am so lucky to have him, he is brutally honest."

Infatuation bursts with quirky electro pop at its most danceable. Alexa shows us she's cheeky, opinionated and has found her niche.

She collaborated with UK-born and now Melbourne-based producer Stuart Crichton for the track I'm Falling. Kara DioGuardi, known for her time as a judge on American Idol and work with Pink, Kelly Clarkson and Christina Aguilera, also features on the album.

"The songs are about love, being in love, being hurt, being happy and in a great place," Alexa says. "Songs like Addict talk about love being like a drug while F ed Up Me is about a friend who let me down."

And then there's X Rated - a song that lets your imagination fill the gaps. "When I wrote X Rated, Tom asked me, 'Are you comfortable with that? If you're cool, then I'm cool'," she says.

"For me, music is about having fun. I'd love to be able to tour the world and get myself out there, but just being able to perform these songs and now finally have this album out is fantastic for me." <div class="endnote">